Cosmopolitan Editor Helen Gurley Brown Dead at 90

Aug 13, 2012 04:23 PM ET
by Natalie Abrams
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Helen Gurley Brown

Helen Gurley Brown, the former editor of Cosmopolitan magazine, died on Monday. She was 90.

Hearst Corporation, which publishes Cosmopolitan, announced that Brown died after a brief hospitalization at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia hospital.

Brown became the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan in 1965, three years after publishing her bestselling book Sex and the Single Girl. Under her guidance, Cosmo became the go-to magazine for single women, which helped to turn around the then-fledging magazine. Brown was replaced in 1997, but remained the editor on all 59 international editions until her death.

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"Helen Gurley Brown was an icon," said CEO of Hearst Corporation Frank A. Bennack, Jr. in a statement. "Her formula for honest and straightforward advice about relationships, career and beauty revolutionized the magazine industry. She lived every day of her life to the fullest and will always be remembered as the quintessential 'Cosmo girl.' She will be greatly missed."

Brown was the wife of the late David Brown, who produced such films as Jaws, The Sting and The Verdict.